Saturday, June 21, 2008

Im always happy to sit with Asian buddhist teachers; so far that experience has been primarily with Tibetan Teachers such as the Venerable Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, HH the Dalai Lama, etc. Beginning July 1st, I will sit a month with a very senior monk, Pa Auk Sayadaw. I'm curious to see if there is any differences in my practice by being guided by a POC. Im assuming that the "papancha" might be different. In long retreats I've often had papancha associated with the whiteness of the western buddhist Sangha.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

PEOPLE OF COLOR AND ALLIES SANGHA The People of Color and Allies (POCAS) is a Buddhist inspired, peer led mindfulness group. It meets weekly on Wednesday Nights for a sit and Dharma discussion. All People of Color interested in meditation and Buddhism are invited to attend. Allies must be sponsored by a person of color and current member that can vouch for their level of understanding of POC issues beyond a Racism 101 level. Our schedule follows:

SCHEDULE AND LOCATION CHANGE

The Seattle Pocas sit has changed to Wednesdays.

PLACE: Colonial Room (instead of chapel) Starting October 7, 2009

1. One Wednesday a month we bring Dharma wisdom to discussions of being a people of color in the US.

2. One Wednesday a month is a peer led discussion: a member signs up to lead a discussion of his/her choosing. We encourage discussion of one of Buddha's "lists"....

3. The group has chosen the paramis as a topic of discussion for one Wednesday a month.

4. The fourth Wednesday of the month we have a practice "Talking Circle" and discuss what ever we want.

5. During the months with a fifth Wednesday, we take that evening to have a Sangha business meeting after the sit.

We also try to recruit visiting Dharma teachers to come to our sangha to lead sits and give Dharma talks when available. We practice meditation (Sattipatthana) in the tradition of IMS and Spirit Rock.The POCAS Sits are Wednesday evenings 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Colonial Room of the All Pilgrims Church, Seattle WA. 98122 For more information, email Bonnie at info@nativesangha.org.